Borax Pentahydrate - United States

Brief Overview
The most widely used form of sodium borate in a variety of industries is borax pentahydrate, also referred to as Etibor 48 or sodium tetraborate pentahydrate. It is a crystalline granular or powder that is white, odorless, and slightly alkaline both in solution and on its own.Etibor 48 is less hygroscopic, has a lower ratio of bound water, and has a higher boron content per unit mass than borax decahyrdate, which is physio-chemically comparable.
Manufacturing Process
High-purity sodium tetraborate pentahydrate is produced by:
(a) Colemanite (2CaO·3B2O3.5H2O) is a mineral that reacts with sodium carbonate (Na2CO3) in an aqueous solution to produce sodium hydroxide and sodium tetraborate, with solid calcium carbonate precipitating;
(b) After separating the precipitated calcium carbonate, treating the aqueous solution from stage (a) with boric acid (H3BO3) to neutralize the sodium hydroxide and produce additional sodium tetraborate;
(c) Crystallization is used to separate the sodium tetraborate pentahydrate from the aqueous solution that was obtained in stage (b).